Attack of the Clones

The other Saturday we took a little trip to the Belleek Pottery to see what it's like. We received quite a lot of Belleek items as wedding presents, and thought it would be good to see where they had been made, and how they were made. Sadly the only guided tours on Saturdays are for privately booked tour buses, so we had to content ourselves with the 'museum' which was tiny and the gift shop, which was all geared towards the American market.

While there, though, we were accosted by a representative of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Having been asked where we had travelled from (er, just down the road...), he did a quick survey trying to discover demographics of visitors and all that. He also took my email address, as some participants would be invited to join a further web-based survey to garner reflections once the holiday/trip had been completed.

The email popped up yesterday, and I settled down to complete it. And it was then that I discovered a most remarkable fact: the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has shifted. Northern Ireland must now be six and a bit counties:


Fermanagh now includes Clones, according to the map and the detailed list. I wonder when this border incursion occurred? Or perhaps we're seeing the start of the border expanding and including the estranged 26?

The Bible Version Survey

Just over a month ago, we had a survey running to see which Bible version was used by my blog readers. It's obviously not scientific, but here are the results:

Authorised Version - 2 (15.4%)
ESV - 4 (30.8%)
NIV - 7 (53.8%)
NRSV - 2 (15.4%)
The Message - 2 (15.4%)

Total Poll responses were 13, with a majority of this sample using the New International Version.

A big thank you to all who took part in the poll - it exceeded my expectations for responses! Open Forum now for you to suggest why you read that particular version...

Most Wanted: Dead or Alive

Recently, via David Keen, I saw some survey results in the Express. Apparently, 3000 Britons were asked which dead person they would most like to meet. A third said Jesus.

Spot the glaring error. Yes, Jesus isn't dead, he's very much alive!

It's interesting though, that so many people expressed a wish to meet him. Given this statistic, you would expect our churches to be packed to the gills with people wanting to meet Jesus, and yet, I don't think that's happening. So what's going wrong?

Is it that people genuinely don't know that Jesus is alive? If so, then the problem is with our proclamation - the message is not being heard. At the very heart of Christianity is the good news that Jesus is alive - because if he's not, then we might as well pack up and go home (1 Corinthians 15: 14-19).

Is it that people like Jesus but not the church? This is sometimes the baseline and foundation for more emerging forms of the church, seeking to reach those who have been hurt by Christians, but still want Jesus. Jesus is attractive, but then there's those hypocrites in the church who are harder to deal with.

It's characteristic of our spiritual pick and mix culture, where you can have a quarter of Buddha, and a handful of Jesus (the sermon on the mount), and a dash of yoga, and a pint of Kabbalah and mix it all up to your own desire. You can claim to be in with Jesus and have nothing to do with the church. But that's not how it works. We're not saved to be lone rangers on our own - we are made members of the Body of Christ, together with all other followers of Jesus. The church is God's gift, as we support and encourage each other along the way.

Whatever the reason, it's good to see that people are interested in Jesus. Dead or alive. We have the good news of Jesus who died and was raised, who is alive for evermore. How can we not tell this to everyone?!